UnitedHealth Group reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $4.69 a share on 13 October and raised its 2026 forecast to at least $20.50 a share, even though revenue and membership were lower than a year earlier.
UnitedHealth Group reported adjusted earnings of $4.69 a share for the third quarter of 2026 on 13 October, compared with $2.92 a share in the third quarter of 2025, according to a report by Value the Markets. Revenue was $112.7 billion, down from $113.2 billion a year earlier.
The company raised its full-year outlook. It now expects adjusted earnings of at least $20.50 a share for 2026, and at least $19.50 a share on a GAAP basis, according to the same report. The earlier outlook is not given in the sources reviewed.
The medical care ratio, which is the share of premiums paid out for medical costs, improved to 88.4% from 89.9% a year earlier. A lower ratio means a larger share of premium income is kept by the insurer. The report says that lower medical costs and improved operating efficiency drove the increase in earnings.
Membership fell. UnitedHealthcare served 48.3 million people, down from 50.1 million a year earlier, a fall of 1.8 million, which is Delima News’ calculation from the two figures. Medicare Advantage membership has fallen by 935,000 since the end of 2025, according to the report.
The chief executive, Stephen Hemsley, said that the third-quarter results reflect the discipline and execution that the company’s teams are bringing to every part of the business, according to the report.
Management also flagged risks. The report lists elevated commercial medical cost trends, the timing of Medicaid funding and continuing legal actions by the Department of Justice as risks to growth expectations for 2027. It does not give details of the legal actions.
The profit rise is large relative to the change in revenue. Adjusted earnings per share rose by about 61% while revenue fell by about 0.4%, calculations that Delima News has made from $2.92 and $4.69, and from $113.2 billion and $112.7 billion. The sources reviewed do not say how much of the gain came from the cost improvements and how much from other items.
The result was reported in the week of the big US bank results, which Delima News covered, and as the stock market had its worst day since July on 14 October, with the sources reviewed giving no information on UnitedHealth’s share price reaction.
The 88.4% ratio is 1.5 percentage points better than the 89.9% of a year earlier, a calculation by Delima News. For an insurer with revenue of $112.7 billion a quarter, a change of that size is large in dollar terms, but the sources reviewed do not give the premium revenue to which the ratio applies, so no dollar value is stated.
The loss of members is not small. A fall from 50.1 million to 48.3 million is a drop of about 3.6%, a calculation by Delima News, and the Medicare Advantage figure of 935,000 fewer members since the end of 2025 is a large part of the 1.8 million fall over twelve months, though the periods are not the same and the two numbers cannot be compared directly. The report does not give the reasons for the loss of members.
The company’s fourth-quarter results will show whether the improvement in the medical care ratio continues.
Image: The UnitedHealthcare corporate headquarters (file photo). Photo: Chad Davis / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
